Pick and place (PnP) handlers are widely used in surface mount technology for moving packaged semiconductor devices during assembly and test. Gravity handlers are also used.
Handlers for electronic test equipment transport devices from an input area where there are typically operator loaded units for test to the test site area that includes contactors where the electrical testing takes place. Electronic testing of packaged semiconductor devices on a test floor generally involves handler conversion activities between test lots when different package sizes, pin types and package thicknesses are presented for test. A conversion kit (or changeover kit) including package specific hardware along with some parametric changes are used for this conversion, along with a contactor that contacts the packages devices during electrical testing.
Hardware for PnP handlers in a conversion kit includes left/right metal shuttle plates having indentations referred to as pockets, input/output (IO) PnP suction cups that fit into the pockets, and test site (TS) PnP nests (or Chucks Nests). The left TS PnP picks up the packaged device from left shuttle plate prior to test, holds the packaged device and ensures proper contact and alignment during test, and returns the tested packaged device to the left shuttle after test. The right TS PnP nest, on the other side, performs the same function of picking up packaged devices from right shuttle place prior to test, holding them and ensuring proper contact and alignment during testing, and returning the tested packaged device to the right shuttle after test. The IO PnP picks up all tested units from left and right shuttle and then sorts them into binning trays in the output area.
Long conversion downtime between test setups is experienced when performing conventional handler package-to-package conversions particularly for PnP handlers due to the need to change the conversion kit components including the input IO PnP suction cups, the left/right shuttle plates and the test site (TS) PnP nests, and to perform re-alignment. Such conventional conversions generally take about 3 hours to perform. PnP conversion kit replacement and hardware changes alone covers about 2 hours of the conversion time, including time for re-alignment of about at least 1 hour including determination of new offset of handler encoder values, IO PnP centering alignment against the shuttle, Shuttle plate alignment against IO PnP, TS PnP centering alignment against the shuttle, and shuttle plate hardstop against a reference point that is necessitated by replacement of the shuttle plates.